Pfizer Inc Stock Buy Recommendation Reiterated (PFE)

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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, growth in earnings per share, compelling growth in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

Powered by its strong earnings growth of 31.25% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 44.11% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Turning to the future, naturally, any stock can fall in a major bear market. However, in almost any other environment, the stock should continue to move higher despite the fact that it has already enjoyed nice gains in the past year.

PFIZER INC has improved earnings per share by 31.3% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. During the past fiscal year, PFIZER INC increased its bottom line by earning $1.08 versus $1.02 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.21 versus $1.08).

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Pharmaceuticals industry average. The net income increased by 24.6% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $2,610.00 million to $3,253.00 million.

The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.48, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.21, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.

The gross profit margin for PFIZER INC is currently very high, coming in at 85.20%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Along with this, the net profit margin of 21.60% is above that of the industry average.

Pfizer Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of medicines for people and animals worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 21.5, above the average drugs industry P/E ratio of 18.8 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Pfizer has a market cap of $189.35 billion and is part of the health care sector and drugs industry. Shares are up 17.1% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.